Royal Flush
by Pikagalmish
Summary: P3: Stories only they knew, memories only they shared... Glimpses into the lives of the three senpai, past, present, and future. // Just Because: "Is 'just because' not enough?"
1. A Birthday Gift

**Title**: "A Birthday Gift"  
**Word Count**: 683  
**Rating**: PG for language  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Summary**: Mitsuru's birthday plus Akihiko has no present equals Shinjiro gets no sleep.

**A/N**: First out of a continuous series of one-shots featuring the three senpai, often in their middle-school years and often having Akihiko x Mitsuru with Shinjiro playing matchmaker (because I'm an idiot like that). Little bit of playing around with dialogue-only style.

* * *

"SHINJI!! SHINJI, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?! SHINJIII--"

"AKI, SHUT THE HELL UP!! It's too goddamn early for you to be running around like an idiot!"

"It's late enough for me to be panicking!"

"...you? _Panicking_? ...who are you and what have you done with Aki?"

"Haha, very funny. You'd be worried too if you knew what tomorrow was!"

"...May eighth?"

"YES! MAY EIGHTH! Or, in other words, _**MITSURU'S BIRTHDAY**_."

"...so?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'SO'?! How the heck are you so calm about this?! Aren't you _worried_ in the least bit about what Mitsuru's going to _do_ to us when she finds out that we didn't get her a present?!"

"What's that supposed to mean, 'we'? I already got her a gift."

"...what?"

"Yeah, on my desk there."

"...wait a minute, this isn't that fancy tea she's always drinking, is it?"

"The one and only."

"How the hell did you manage to _afford_ this?!"

"Some of us actually _save_ their money instead of spending it on weapon upgrades all the time, Aki."

"Hey, not everyone can be as satisfied as you with what they have."

"Doesn't help the fact that you have less than a day to find Mitsuru a birthday present."

"How did _you_ know about it, anyways?"

"I asked Ikutsuki-san."

"..._why_?"

"In case you didn't notice, Mitsuru and I kind of got off on the wrong foot, and she's the last person I want to be on the bad side of. Now are we done here? Because it's Sunday and I'd like to sleep."

"NO! Shinji, get UP! I need your help, here!"

"Aki, I swear, if you don't stop tugging at my pillow _right now_, I will sock you straight to kingdom come."

"Okay, okay!! I'm leaving, geez. Way to hang me out to dry..."

"..."

"What the hell do I do now, ugh..."

"..."

"Maybe she won't notice..."

"...Aki, _leave_."

"Yeah yeah, I got it..."

"...Aki."

"Yeah?"

"Just be honest."

"Huh?"

"..."

"Hey, don't go back to slee--"

"OUT. _**NOW**_."

"Right, leaving."

"...

...idiot."

- - -

"Yes, Father, I've received the package. ...Thank you very much, I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to find an original copy of that in French... No, nothing really happened over here. ...Shinjiro gave me some tea. ...T of H Darjeeling, I don't know how he managed to afford that... ...No, I'm sure it's nothing illegal, there's no need to worry... Akihiko didn't get me anything, but I doubt he even knew when my birthday was; To tell you the truth, I was surprised enough that Shinjiro had found out... Yes, it's getting late, thank you for taking the time to call, I'm sure you're very busy. ...Yes, yes, everything's going well with SEES. ...Yes, I'll make sure to keep an eye on everything. ...Yes, thank you, Father, good night."

"Hey Mitsuru, you might want to come out here."

"Please don't knock so hard on the door, Shinjiro; I can hear you just fine."

"Yeah, whatever. Important thing is, I think Aki hurt himself heating up water."

"What, again? Good grief, you'd think he'd have learned by now...when will he grow up...?"

"Hasn't grown much in the fourteen years I've known him."

"That's very optimistic. Well, I suppose I should go see what's the matter... Lead the way, Shinjiro."

- - -

"Good grief, all that trouble for one little burn... Honestly, Akihiko, I will be elated the day you begin acting your age--hmm? What's this?

...'To Mitsuru:

Sorry that I couldn't get you anything better than this. Guess I should've taken the time to actually find out when your birthday was, huh? I guess after all those years with just Shinji, I've forgotten to take things about other people into consideration. We're friends--or, teammates, however you like to say it--and I should at least know that much about you. So sorry about this again, and...I'll get you something really good next year to make it up.

Happy birthday.

Akihiko'

...

...it looks like that joyful day came sooner than I thought."

**- FIN -**

* * *

**...well, there yo****u have it! The first of the Senpai-Centric one-shots that I'm writing while dying in the boredom that is summer-school (they never have the **_**good **_**courses, thus I am stuck in BCIS instead of Webmastering, boo-hoo). Hope you guys enjoyed it; I know I did writing it. :) As to the boys' gifts for their resident empress, Shinjiro's is a Darjeeling tea by Taylors of Harrogate, which, for a really good variety, is **_**immensely**_** expensive (About fifty bucks a box!!). And Akihiko's...well, I'll let you all ponder that yourselves. :);; _Totally_ not because I was too lazy to think of something, oh no... **

**Thanks for reading, review if you liked it, and see you all next time!!**

**- Saku**


	2. Manners

**Title**: "Manners"  
**Summary**: Knock before you enter, it could save your life.  
**Word Count**: 1,015  
**Rating**: PG for language  
**Warnings**: None, unless you can't stand the thought of Aki and Shinji getting "Executed".  
**  
A/N: **Something that came to me IMMEDIATELY after **Auron's Fan **(Love you lots) told me about the hidden-camera scene in FES (I'm re-playing the original before "Journey") where Mitsuru's just walking around in nothing but her towel BECAUSE SHE CAN, and this got me to thinking about just HOW long she's been doing this, and...yeah. Enjoy. (Oh and uh, geometry can die. For srz.).

Beta'd by my adorable uke **Zwip**. Love you muchly, Arii.

* * *

It had been a normal enough evening for Kirijou Mitsuru. She had arrived back at the dormitory at seven-thirty after working things out with the junior-high's Student Council. After dinner and a cup of Darjeeling tea, she pulled Akihiko away from the punching bag and forced both him and Shinjiro to sit down and do their schoolwork. Upon finishing her own (and making it _very clear_ to the boys that she intended them to do the same), she headed up to her room for the night to do some studying in quiet. With exams looming on the horizon, she declared that night unfit for exploration of Tartarus, much to the boys' dismay. At nine-fifteen, Mitsuru decided to take some time to shower, before studying some more. Meanwhile, however, the boys downstairs were having different ideas...

- - -

Shinjiro scowled at the page in front of him. Advanced trigonometry? Study of geometric planes? Just thinking about it made his head hurt. The fact that there was one pesky silver-haired boxer bugging him constantly to help him study for Japanese History didn't help one bit.

Finally, he gave up, slamming the book shut and turning to his friend.

"Fine, Aki, give me the textbook," he said reluctantly, holding out his hand. "Anything's got to be better than sine, cosine, and _tangents_." He spit out the terms like they were venom.

Akihiko broke out into a grin, happily shoving _A Comprehensive History of Japan_ at the brunet.

"Alright, let's see..." Shinjiro muttered, flipping through the pages. "Shoutoku Taishi became Regency in the year...?"

"600!" Akihiko answered confidently.

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "Okay...when did he order Onono Imoko to go to Zui?"

"Year 610."

"Japanese mission to China."

"Year 623."

"Coup d'etat of the reform."

"Year 648."

"War between the two sides of Japan."

"Year 675".

"Law enforcement of Taihou."

"Year 707."

"First national currency."

"Year 713!!"

Akihiko had leaned all the way over the table by now, so that he was mere inches away from Shinjiro. The latter looked back at him unblinkingly.

"Well?" the silver-haired boy asked eagerly.

"Well, let's just hope that the teacher grades the tests blind, because you got every single one of them wrong," Shinjiro said bluntly.

As Shinjiro would remember fondly in later years, the look on Sanada Akihiko's face right then and there was simply...priceless.

"I...I got them all _wrong_?" Akihiko stammered, looking slightly panicked.

Shinjiro nodded.

"I don't believe this!" Akihiko wailed, slamming his head down on the table (Shinjiro winced at the thud; That sounded like it hurt). "All that studying, and little good it did me! Shinji, what the heck do I do? Mitsuru's going to _kill_ me if I place that low again!!"

"It's not like you can just go up and _ask_ her for help," Shinjiro replied absentmindedly.

The silver-haired head snapped up.

"Shinji, that's it!" he exclaimed. "Mitsuru always ranks first; She's got to have _some_ sort of advice for how to memorise all this!"

"Hey, wait, you're not seriously going to--" Shinjiro started.

"That's genius, thanks!!" Akihiko shouted before he could finish, grabbing the book and running up the stairs.

"Wait, Aki... AKI, YOU DON'T JUST BARGE INTO A GIRL'S ROOM LIKE THAT!!" Shinjiro yelled, running after his idiot friend.

"Oh come on, what's she gonna do?" the other boy said nonchalantly, placing his hand on Mitsuru's door. "'Execute' us for not knocking? She _wants_ us to study, she'll be _happy_ that we're doing this--"

Akihiko froze.

There was Mitsuru all right, sitting on her fancy sofa, calmly filing her nails.

Except...she wasn't really..._wearing_...anything, save for one small, pink, fluffy towel that _just barely_ covered everything.

There was an awkward silence, as she, Akihiko, and now, Shinjiro, just stared at each other, motionless.

Five seconds later, three bloodcurdling screams pierced the chilly night air.

- - -

"Shoutoku Taishi became Regency in the year..."

"593."

"He ordered Onono Imoko to go to Zui in..."

"Year 607."

"Japanese mission to China?"

"Year 630."

"Coup d'etat of the reform."

"Year 645."

"War between the two sides of Japan."

"Year 672".

"Law enforcement of Taihou."

"Year 701."

"First national currency."

"Year 708."

Mitsuru nodded approvingly. "Très magnifique, Akihiko, you managed to answer all of them correctly."

"Thanks..." Akihiko said, holding an ice-pack to his head.

"How are those bruises doing?" she asked casually, skimming through the rest of the chapter.

Gingerly, Akihiko poked at a purple splotch on his arm. He winced at the sharp pain where he touched it. "They're...getting there."

"And you, Shinjiro? I daresay you've seen worse by way of Shadows," she called to the boy over on the couch.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Shinjiro muttered, nursing a black eye.

"Well, it's not like we'll be heading to Tartarus again until after the exams, so all that--yes, Akihiko, that includes the broken bones--should heal by then," Mitsuru proclaimed calmly, standing up. "For now, we should all get some rest."

At the stairs, she paused.

"Oh, and you two?" she called back to them. "If I hear _any_ word about what you saw being spread around school, I will _personally_ Execute you both."

The boys froze.

"Y-you mean...that _wasn't_ an 'Execution'...?" Akihiko asked slowly, fearfully. Shinjiro just gaped.

Mitsuru smiled, a deadly, frightfully ominous smile that sent chills up both their spines.

"What, that?" she said, motioning towards the casts and bandages her teammates sported. "_That_ was nothing more than a simple _Prosecution_. A proper _Execution_, had you experienced it, would have left you immobile for a good week and a half. Seeing as exams are coming up, I decided to let you off light."

They just stared, eyes the size of dinner plates.

"If that is all, I bid you both good night," she said, heading up to her room. They heard the door shut and lock a moment later.

Slowly, the two boys turned and looked at each other. Neither said anything (Not like they _could_, even if they wanted to; Mitsuru's words had been enough to make a guy pee his pants).

Finally, Shinjiro spoke:

"..._shit_."

- **FIN** –

* * *

**This (as well as many others) was written quite a while ago, and I've only started to put them up on now; I have a LOT planned for this collection, as well as two others centering around the three senpai, so please look forward to them!!**

**As always, reviews are much loved!!**

**- Saku**


	3. Lullaby

**Title**: "Lullaby"  
**Word Count**: 851  
**Rating**: PG for language  
**Warnings**: Akihiko abuse? Hahaha.  
**Summary**: They were going to have a LOT of explaining to do in the morning...

**A/N: **Got this idea before bed one night (as usual), and really liked it, so, here you are!! And just as a quick FYI, most of the fics in this collection will probably be pre-game, as Junior-High!AkiMitsuShinji gives me so much more to play with, heheheh.

Props to anyone who can figure out what movie it is that Aki, Mitsu, and Shinji are watching.

* * *

"Have I told you how _awesome_ it is that your dad got you a plasma T.V. for your birthday!?" Akihiko exclaimed.

Mitsuru smiled slightly. "You might have mentioned it once or twice, yes."

"Too bad we can't say the same for the movie," Shinjiro grumbled, looking at the screen with obvious dislike.

The three of them were sitting in Mitsuru's room, watching an old American film for English class. On the screen, a man and woman were talking in grey-scale, obviously caught in an awkward situation.

_"Oh Tracy darling..." _

_"Mike..."_

_"What can I say to you? Tell me, darling."_

_"Not anything, don't say anything. And especially not 'darling'."_

Shinjiro grimaced. Even _without_ the subtitles, just the tones alone would have made him nauseous. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Akihiko pretend to gag, then a hand slapping him hard on the back of the head: Unfortunately for him, Mitsuru had seen it, too.

"Akihiko, focus!" the redhead scolded, her hand raised warningly.

Akihiko rubbed his head wearily. "Mitsuru, lighten up," he said. "This movie's cheesy as hell; Can't we watch something else?"

"The assignment was to watch an America _classic_ and write a report on it," Mitsuru replied, arms crossed. "Something that _neither of you_", she glared at Shinjiro, "seem able to see the essence of."

"If 'seeing the essence' means liking crap, I'd rather not," Shinjiro muttered under his breath. He received a well-aimed punch to the arm.

"The two of you," Mitsuru hissed, sending a chill down both boys' spines, "are _very fortunate_ that I am offering to help you with this assignment at all. I suggest that, unless you wish to repeat your last year of junior-high, you do not push your luck and watch the rest of this in _silence_."

They shut up.

Much as he hated to admit it, Akihiko actually started enjoying the movie after a bit. It was amusing, to say the least, watching the influential heiress bumble her way around her many suitors. He grinned, thinking back to that afternoon, when he and Shinjiro had taken Mitsuru out for her first taste of fast-food. He glanced at his two friends: Mitsuru was leaning back against the sofa, watching the film intently, while Shinji looked ready to fall asleep.

_And now we're sitting here, watching this,_ Akihiko thought to himself. _Talk about déja vu._

Shinjiro felt someone looking at him, but when he turned his head, both of his teamates had their eyes on the screen. He raised an eyebrow; Was Aki actually _enjoying_ this shit!? Then again, he himself hadn't exactly gotten up and left yet, either. Shinjiro shook his head wearily; Mitsuru was definitely rubbing off on them. He just couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing.

He stifled a yawn. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was well past eleven. His eyelids were drooping, and he relented without much resistance; After all, despite what she said, Mitsuru was never _really_ going to let the two of them fail...

- - -

When Shinjiro woke up, the Dark Hour was already well under way. Blinking away the sleep in his eyes, he tried to sit up.

Something was on him.

Looking around, confused, he saw that he wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep. In the darkness, her face illuminated by the discoloured moonlight, Mitsuru was sleeping soundly, her head resting comfortably on Shinjiro's shoulder. What was more...

Shinjiro resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Somehow, in her sleep, Mitsuru had reached out for the closest bundle of warmth and grabbed onto it. In this case, it was Akihiko. Caught up in an extremely awkward and uncomfortable position in Mitsuru's arms, and what with her leaning over while retaining her grip on him, the flustered boxer had ended up practically sitting in her lap.

As Shinjiro looked on amusedly, Akihiko noticed that he wasn't the only one awake. With a panicked look on his face, he frantically mouthed _"Help me!"_ to his best friend.

Shinjiro shrugged his free shoulder meekly. There wasn't much anything he could do in this situation; Waking Mitsuru up now, with the three of them in such a compromising position, was probably a bad idea, and would subject the two boys to yet another one of her infamous "Executions".

A chilly wind blew in through the open window. Mitsuru stirred slightly in her sleep, causing the boys to stiffen. After a tense moment, she shivered a bit, then settled back down.

Akihiko moved to take off his jacket, but Shinjiro stopped him, motioning to the death-hold Mitsuru still had on him. Instead, careful not to wake the sleeping girl, he unzipped and removed his own jacket. The heavy windbreaker was so big that it covered all three of them with ease. After a moment of looking between the two of them, Akihiko sighed and resigned to sleeping in his current position. Shinjiro settled against the cushions and closed his eyes, looking forward to sleep.

They were going to have a _lot_ of explaining to do in the morning...

- **FIN** –

* * *

…**for anyone wondering if AkiMitsuShinji has become my new OT3 since this collection was first started, the answer is a loud, resounding "****FUCKING **_**HELL**_** YES!!"**

…**I do love them muchly. **

**Before I forget, beta'd, yet again, by my wonderful Editor-from-Hell, Zwip, who, along with looking over my works, also forces me to write/draw things I never would have in a million years. **

**...the jury's still out on whether or not that's a good thing.**

**Review if you liked, as usual.**

**- Saku**


	4. Just Because

**Title**: "Just Because"  
**Word Count**: 943  
**Rating**: PG for language  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Summary**: "Is 'just because' not enough?"  
**Disclaimer**: -emo-s at the fact that P3 is not the creation or property of Saku-

**A/N**: Thiiis...is probably pushing it as far as "Senpai-centric" goes, seeing as it's mostly just Shinjiro and Mitsuru, haha. I wrote this a while back for Shinjiro's birthday on August 11th, and thought I might as well post it now. It diverted a bit from what I had originally planned, but eh. It'll have to suffice. (:;;

Un-beta'd (OHNOES), so…yeah. XDD;;

Enjoy.

* * *

_"Hey, did you hear..." _

_"...two of us, Shirakawa..."_

_"Oh my GOD, that is the greatest thing..."_

In the darkening alleys behind Port Island Station, the usual rowdy crowd of delinquents sat around, smoking and laughing at each other's coarse jokes. As the minutes ticked by, however, even they began to dissipate, until finally, only one shadowy figure remained.

Shinjiro sat on the steps, hands shoved inside his pockets. Somewhere in the distance, the clock struck eleven. He straightened up; No need to get caught in the Dark Hour tonight. As he turned to leave, he felt someone watching him, and he thought he knew who.

"Aki, get the hell out," he muttered, not turning. "I'm not in the mood to listen to your crap today."

"Do you greet everyone like that, Shinjiro?"

Shinjiro whirled around at the female voice, eyes bulging out of his head.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here!?" he exclaimed, unable to take his eyes off the sophisticated redhead currently standing in front of him.

Kirijou Mitsuru sighed, brushing a wavy lock out of her face.

"I came to see you," she said simply. Walking over to him, her heels tip-tapping on the cold ground, she motioned to the steps on which Shinjiro had been just five minutes before. "Mind if I sit down?"

Shinjiro jerked his head in an odd sort of twitch. Taking that as a nod, Mitsuru settled herself onto the steps, arms crossed. Her former teammate took a seat on the bins a few feet away.

"It's a nice night," she said, looking up at the moon. It had only been a few days since the last Operation, so the waning gibbous still provided the area with plenty of light.

Shinjiro grunted in reply.

"We defeated another of the twelve Shadows last week; I suppose Akihiko has told you about the new developments?" Mitsuru continued, as casually as if she were discussing that night's news.

"He might've mentioned it," Shinjiro muttered.

Mitsuru nodded approvingly. "I see... It's good that you stay at the top of things-- I am not trying to make you come back, Shinjiro, I know better than that," she cut in before the brunet could protest.

There was a silence.

"...what did you come here for?" Shinjiro finally said, looking at her from under his cap.

"Must I have a reason?" Mitsuru replied calmly.

Shinjiro snorted. "Don't try to pull that shit with me," he said. "I may not have known you as long as I've known Aki, but it's been long enough that I know that you don't just come out to some dirty spot at damn near midnight on a Tuesday without a reason. Hell, you're the exact opposite of Aki, you never do _anything_ without a damn good reason."

Mitsuru didn't say anything, just...watched him.

"Is 'just because' not enough for you?" she said softly.

"Tch, right," Shinjiro was beginning to feel very uncomfortable being under her gaze. "Look, if you're not going to tell me, then leave. Aki will be climbing up the walls wondering where you've gone if you're not back during the Dark Hour."

The smallest hint of a smile appeared on Mitsuru's face. He hadn't changed a bit...

"Well, I suppose I could tell you," she said. Getting up, she moved closer to Shinjiro. "I came tonight because..."

The sound of running footsteps drowned out her words, as Shinjiro's eyes widened in shock. Within seconds, a silver-haired young man was in view.

"Hey Shinji, sorry about coming so late," Akihiko said, checking his phone, "I was trying to find Mitsuru to get her to come--"

He froze.

"...along," he finished lamely as he caught sight of his two friends looking at him. "...Mitsuru, what the hell are _you_ doing here!?"

Mitsuru resisted the urge to slap herself on the forehead. Shinjiro made no such effort.

"I suppose I should leave the two of you alone," she said, dusting off her skirt. "I'll see you back at the dormitory, Akihiko."

"What, you're not staying?" Akihiko said, surprised.

"I've already done what I came here for," Mitsuru replied. "You and Shinjiro can speak alone, I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"But you're not--"

"Stay."

Akihiko and Mitsuru looked up. Shinjiro's face was turned away from them.

"...you're already here, so you might as well just stick around," he muttered awkwardly. "It's not like this is any different from when we were living together, anyways..."

Akihiko's face broke out into a grin. Taking Mitsuru by the arm, he led her back to the steps.

"Shinji's right," he said. "You hung out with us just fine back in middle-school; Things haven't changed _that_ much."

As the two of them sat down, the eerie glow of the Dark Hour set in, but if they noticed, they didn't care. They simply sat there, enjoying each other's company in the hidden hour, where time didn't touch them. Soon, Akihiko burst into chatter, talking about this and that, filling Shinjiro in on the details of the last full-moon, glancing at Mitsuru every now and then to confirm things.

Shinjiro pulled his beanie down further over his eyes. "Geez..."

Akihiko stopped talking for a moment, looking towards his best friend.

"Something wrong, Shinji?" he asked.

"Why you two keep coming around this dump just to bother me, I'll never understand," Shinjiro said.

Akihiko laughed, and even Mitsuru had a small smile on her lips. It didn't seem like much, but to them, that was the best form of thanks they could have received.

- - -

_"What did you come here for?" _

_"Because no one deserves to spend their birthday alone."_

- **FIN** -

* * *

**School's just started for me today, but updates should still be not that far in between, seeing as I don't exactly, y'know..._pay attention_ in class, and I have my writing notebook with me all the time. XDD;;**

**Hope you guys liked, and again, review!!**

**- Saku**


End file.
